New RV'er with cold weather question (s)

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billk42

billk42

Member
Joined
Aug 10, 2006
Posts
24
Location
SAint Leonard, Maryland
Hi all,  Newbie here,  I live in Maryland and it does get cold here, not bitter, but cold.  I would like to use our RV for a bit longer into the fall season and I am wondering at what point I will have to worry about the freezing weather being a threat to my coach?  I doubt we will camp in the dead of winter, but still could hit freezing temps. And I plan to have it winterized by December, but i would like to take it out on the road in October at least.  We leave it in our driveway, and it stays hooked up to electricity full time right now. 
 
The most vulnerable components to freeze damage are the toilet valve, the water pump and filter assembly and the refrigerator icemaket solenoid valve.

That being said, any exposed plumbing under the coach needs to be protected and cabinet doors in the coach should be left open with the furnace running.  Condensation in the coach increases as outdoor temps drop at night and incresae in daytime.

Liquids should be removed from basement compartments and stored inside where the furnace is running.

 
A hour or two of barely below-freezing temps are not likely to other anything, especialy if the interior of the rig is heated a bit.  We get occasional below freezing temps in north Florida in January and I just leave the thermostat in the motorhome set to 45 degrees.

If your drain valves are in an enclosed compartment, you can put  a 60-75 watt light bulb in there to make sure it stays above freezing.  A 15W bulb will work for the back side of the refrigerator where the ice maker water line typically runs (may have to block up the refer vents a bit, though).
 
Bill,

I'm in Georgia - North Ga.

The first winter ('04) I set the thermostat to something like 40 and ran an electric heater to keep it at 50ish.  No problem.  Didn't mess around with light bulbs like Gary talked about.

Last Winter ('05) I didn't do anything until just after Thanksgiving and then winterized it using the blow out method instead of antifreeze. No problem (once I figured out where the water heater bypass valves were and how they worked.

Haven't decided what to do this year - probably the same as last year.  We plan to head to Floridia Jan 1st.

Basically its pay the heating bill or winterize.

Joel


 
We are going to be in an RV park for the winter. This is my first RV and would like to know what to do to keep the incoming water line from freezing. We don't get real cold but do drop down to 10 degrees on occasion.
 
fstop8 said:
We are going to be in an RV park for the winter. This is my first RV and would like to know what to do to keep the incoming water line from freezing. We don't get real cold but do drop down to 10 degrees on occasion.
Click to expand...

Most parks that stay open for the winter have a few campsites with the cold weather faucets that have a deep buried valve like you see on farms. Keep your supply hose as short as possible and wrap heat tape around it and plug into the park elec. box. Keeping your furnace running with the coach warm should keep any plumbing from freezing up.

Woody
 
If you expect temps in the 10 degree range, it is probably best to fill the water tank and disconnect the hose until it gets a bit warmer. Heat tape works, but only up to a point unless you do a really good job of insulation and taping. And the two ends can be difficult to do well, depending on your rig and the campsite water tap.

Of those camprounds that do remain open, some will have "limited facilities" during the winter. "Limited" may mean the water supply is turned OFF and only electric is availble.
 
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